Brisket and carrot tzimmes

This braised brisket recipe is an absolute favourite among my family, friends and clients alike. Its origin comes from a very popular South African food author, Sharon Glass, but has had a few amendments to make it what it is today. It’s a great blend of the different palette of Jews of the Diaspora.

• prep

  40 minutes

• cook

  5:15 hours

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

Brisket

• 2–2½ kg kosher brisket 
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 300 g button mushrooms
• 300 g Dutch baby carrots
• 8 roma tomatoes

Brisket sauce

• 1½ cups beef stock
• 1 cup Kosher sweet wine
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• ⅓ cup tomato sauce

Sautéd onions

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 onions, sliced into thin rings
• salt, pepper and sugar, to taste

Carrot tzimmes

• 10 Dutch carrots, chopped into medium-sized pieces
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 cup orange juice 
• ¼ cup honey
• handful of muscatels (or 12 prunes) 
• ½–1 tsp cinnamon 
• 2 onions, sliced into rings 
• 1 tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp grated nutmeg 
• 50 g margarine

Instructions

Preheat oven to 160°C.

Crush garlic cloves, salt and paprika in a mortar and pestle. Smear the paste on both sides of the brisket.

In a large heavy-bottomed frying pan, sear the brisket on both sides until just brown. Set aside in a large baking dish.

In the same heavy-bottomed fry pan, add a tablespoon of oil and sauté the carrots and mushrooms, add a pinch of salt. Once the vegetables are glossy, remove and arrange in the baking dish around the brisket.

In the same pan add tomatoes and cook lightly, adding a little more salt. Remove from pan and place on top of the brisket.

For the brisket sauce, place 1½ cups warmed stock, kosher sweet wine, balsamic vinegar and tomato sauce in a saucepan and stir over medium heat for  10 minutes. Pour over brisket. Cover with foil and place in the preheated oven at 160°C for 2½–3 hours.

After 2½ hours remove foil and allow brisket to cook for another hour uncovered. Remove from the oven and allow to rest, for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the sauteed onions, heat some oil in a pan, add onion rings, salt and pepper. Add sugar and mix through to help the onions caramelise.

Remove brisket from the baking dish and slice thin to medium pieces. Place onto serving platter and cover with sauce and sautéed onions. Serve slices of brisket with carrot tzimmes as a side.

Carrot tzimmes

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease shallow baking dish.

Cook the carrots in boiling salted water for 12 minutes or unti par-cooked. Drain carrots and place in the baking dish with a dash of salt. Pour over the orange juice, add honey and muscatels. Sprinkle with cinnamon and toss gently. Cover and place in the oven to cook for 30 minutes.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.